


The Very First Grand Magic Games

by AshWinterGray



Series: The Tenrou Paradox [2]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, Fights, Forgive Me, Games, I can't write fight scenes, Idiots, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mages Guild, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:48:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25642330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshWinterGray/pseuds/AshWinterGray
Summary: Roughly a year after the Tenrou Team vanished, Master Natsu of Fairy Tail and his guild mates finally hear back from the King of Fiore. But in order to get the audience they desire they have to...compete....in a battle of the guilds? With no other choice but to participate, Master Mavis helps them create a strategy to win. Meanwhile, Natsu, Lucy, Happy, and the kids befriend an unlikely companion. And Cana is just having a blast by revealing the true power of a fairy.(I can't write fight scenes all that well guys. I apologize if these are unsatisfactory)
Relationships: Lucy Heartfilia & Natsu Dragneel & Happy & Cana Alberona, Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia, Yukino Aguria & Sting Eucliffe & Rogue Cheney
Series: The Tenrou Paradox [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1837285
Comments: 18
Kudos: 105





	1. Chapter 1

“The King wants to host a what?”

Lucy was staring at the paper, barely casting a glance up to see who had spoken. Of course, the entire Guild Hall looked positively disgruntled. This was an unusual request, after all. Sure, the Guilds liked to butt heads for fun and sparring every so often, under the correct guidelines and conditions. But this…

“AW!” Natsu cried out, making Lucy jolt away. “I won’t even get to compete!”

That was true. The condition for the Grand Magic Game was that the Guild Masters weren’t allowed to enter in the competition. From what Lucy gathered, Guilds from all over Fiore would compete in one large competition where they would then be narrowed down to specific Guilds. Those last few Guilds would then compete for the title of Strongest Guild. Along with bragging rights, there was also a rather large sum of money as a prize.

“We could always temporarily make someone else Master,” Laki pointed out. “If you think it would help.”

Natsu got a serious look on his face, a sight that was becoming more common for the Guild.

“No. We won’t do that,” Natsu shook his head. “We’ll be going up against some of the strongest Guilds out there. And as much as I want to fight, it wouldn’t be fair to switch Masters right before the event.”

“So, we’re entering?” Macao questioned. “Are you sure about that, Natsu. Our S Class Mages are gone. No one has heard from Laxus this entire time. And other than you, Lucy, and Cana, there is no way we’d be able to go up against people like that.”

“We have to,” Lucy pipped up, pulling a separate letter out of the envelope. “The King attached his response to this flyer. If we want to talk to him, we need to compete.”

“How the heck is that fair?” Alzack demanded. “In order to talk to him about child abuse in Guilds we have to compete in his petty tournament?”

“I don’t like it either,” Lucy shook her head. “But we don’t have much of a choice. With the Magic Council trying to blacklist us, the King might just join that bandwagon. We can’t risk that kind of publicity. Right now, it doesn’t matter if we win. What matters is that we see the King and bring up our concerns.”

“Well of course seeing the King is important, but who says we can’t still win?”

The entire Guild turned to the source of the voice, only to start screaming and freaking out. Mavis Vermillion, first Master of Fairy Tail, sighed. This was going to be a long day, she could tell.

“QUIET!”

Or not. The Guild whipped around to see Cana, perched up on the deck where Natsu’s office was, glaring down at them all. She tsked, taking a swig of her beer before setting the bottle down.

“Listen up, people, Master Mavis may be a ghost, but she is very much here to help,” Cana declared, daring anyone to challenge her. “Now then, for those of you who know Fairy Tail’s history, you’ll know Master Mavis was a wicked tactician. So let’s hear her game plan and let her guidance make us number 1!”

Shooting her arm in the air, Cana pointed to the sky, palm facing away from her guildmates, and her thumb pointing to the side. And, well, who were her Guildmates to deny the symbol of their greatest bond?

\--------------------------

Three months of training. Three months of rigorous training to prepare for the Grand Magic Games and the chance to prove that Fairy Tail wasn’t out of the game. Mavis came up with a plan for each individual member to increase their magic power and their magic ability. Along with the last year spent getting stronger after the loss of their friends, the three months were practically torture.

Complaints, however, were few and far between. They all knew how important this was. Both for their own guild and the future of Guilds all over Fiore.

“The first round is a free for all,” Lucy began their explanation of the game’s first round. “Four Guilds will be chosen to enter the arena. Each member is to fight to the best of their ability and whoever has the most Guild members standing by the end will be the winner.”

“So we focus on endurance,” Mavis concluded, gaze slightly distant as if she were actually seeing the battlefield itself. “We have no idea who will be in the first round. It’s completely up to chance, but we have to believe that we’ll be faced with S Class wizards. As much as I commend Natsu for being able to throw an outright punch, I don’t believe the rest of us will have much luck. Fight where you can but endure when you must.”

\---------------------

To Fairy Tail’s surprise, their first match up was against Twilight Ogre. This particular Guild had tried to move into Magnolia without Fairy Tail’s permission, but after issuing a challenge, Natsu himself had forced the Guild on the outskirts of Magnolia. Fairy Tail took great pleasure in crushing this particular Guild. The other two Guilds they were pitched against were Titan’s Nose and Phoenix Grave, both of which were easy opponents for Fairy Tail to handle. They just had a bit more fun trashing Twilight Ogre.

“Not bad,” Lyon complimented later, Lamia Scale having succeeded in their own competition. “I admit, the guilds were rather easy to defeat, but considering Phoenix Grave had two S Class Mages, and Titan’s Nose had one, you Fairies held up well.”

Natsu grinned, watching as Lucy talked with Kagura and Millianna. Mermaid Heel and Blue Pegasus had opted to join the celebration, with all four guilds having won their rounds. It had urked Natsu to no end that he couldn’t join the fight, but seeing his Guild win was enough in the end.

“Yeah, well the real game is about to start soon,” Natsu smirked at Lyon, looking to see Sting, Rogue, and Yukino playing with Chelia and Romeo in what looked to be a game of tag. “Don’t count us as easy.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Lyon chuckled. Cana had somehow convinced Hibiki and Ren to join their drinking competition, Eve cheering them on. “Quatro Cerberus will certainly make an interesting opponent too. Though I’ve heard their S Class Mage is only a Reserve.”

Natsu frowned. That was rather interesting. Mavis had insisted that they learn about the different Guilds that could be consider being on pare with Fairy Tail. Bacchus Groh was going to be a rather interesting opponent to say the least.

“And with no idea how these events work, it’ll make this even more interesting,” Mavis added, not that Lyon could hear her. “We’ll have to be careful. Especially with Raven Tail.”

Ivan Dreyar ran that Guild. Natsu had smelled him the moment he stepped foot on the field. He’d ended up tracking down Lahar after the games, asking the man to keep an eye on the former Fairy turned dark. Lahar, after reluctantly hearing Natsu’s case, agreed. Forcing a Lacrima on a child was a serious act, and though there wasn’t enough evidence to convict, Natsu didn’t trust Ivan to play fair.

“We need to keep an eye on Raven Tail,” Natsu whispered to Lyon. “For everyone’s sake.”

Lyon nodded in agreement.

\---------------------

The first rounded ended up lasting two days. Apparently, the King had sorely miscalculated how many Magic Guilds were in Fiore, so once the first round was done on the second day, the King declared there would be yet _another_ first round (Part B) to make up for this oversight. It wasn’t necessarily that the King had overlooked the number of Guilds, however. As it turned out, several people became eager to join the fight and created Guilds within the three months of the announcement.

Raven Tail being one of those Guilds.

Of course, the Guilds went into their fights with a hunger to win and prove themselves the best. It was only by sheer dumb luck that Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and Mermaid Heel hadn’t been pitted together. Though Mavis admitted she was starting to suspect the game was fixed. Still, Natsu cheered on his Guild as they once more crushed their opponents. The strength of these guilds was definitely harder than their first round, and Mavis’ recommendation of endurance was taken seriously for this round.

A Guild couldn’t keep fighting if they were too exhausted to do so.

Their main hitters consisted of Loke, who got permission to be there of his own power. (Natsu suspected that Loke still blamed himself for escaping Tenrou island while the others suffered), Cana, Sting, Rogue, Lucy, Yukino, and Max. The others, though delivering hits on occasions, weren’t strong enough to battle the S Class Mages, and chose to keep standing by sheer force of will.

It was an impressive battle, though not as exciting as it could have been had they been up against one of their sister Guilds. But still entertaining.

The real trouble started when Mermaid Heel was pitted against Raven Tail. Natsu locked eyes with both Doranbolt and Lahar. Doranbolt, dressed in regular clothing was sitting nearby Ivan Dreyar, though Natsu could tell something was wrong.

It was unsettling.

Risley found herself in battle against Nullpudding. Araña against Kurohebi. Milliana was holding her own against Obra. Minerva was trapped in battle with Flare. But it was Kagura’s battle with Alexei that puzzled Natsu.

“What is she doing?” Cana questioned, watching as Kagura got knocked all across the field.

“I-I don’t know,” Lucy whispered in shock. “I’ve-I’ve never seen Kagura just not react. Did something happen?”

Natsu glanced to Yukino, giving her a silent nudge. She gave a tiny nod in return, then began to mutter a spell under her breath. Yukino’s newest spirit gave a salute before disappearing.

“Something’s wrong.”

And Mavis looked furious as she watched the battle before her. Watched as the events unfolded. She couldn’t quite point out what it was that caused this anger, but she was old enough to know that some sort of trick was taking place.

Natsu held his breath, waiting and watching when Doranbolt shot up. Lahar was on the move, and Yukino closed the gate of her spirit. In the spot where Ivan Dreyar had sat was now an image erupting into mist.

The sight did not go un-noticed by the crowd.

“WHAT’S THIS!?” the announcer, Chapati, cried out “WHERE IS MASTER IVAN?!”

“I THINK I KNOW EXACTLY WHERE HE IS!” Yajima spoke gravely, though a deep fury caused the entire stadium to shiver.

Then, the stadium cracked. Not as though the stadium itself began to fall apart, but more like the air cracked. As if there had been a film of glass all over the stadium, hiding what really went on from prying eyes. To the surprise of the crowd, Kagura was standing, relatively unharmed, all the members of Raven Tail on the ground with only Alexei standing. Or…should they say…Ivan Dreyar.

The entire stadium went silent. For maybe three seconds before it erupted in shock, horror, anger, and whatever other negative emotion a person could think of.

Natsu locked eyes with Lahar once more. A very obvious I-told-you-so.

\--------------------

“He tried to make a deal with you to take down Fairy Tail?” Milliana gaped later that night.

“Yes, rather absurd,” Kagura nodded. “He seemed convinced we were rivals.”

“Well, I guess to an outsider we would look that way,” Lucy tapped her chin. “Sting did tell Minerva we would beat you. And Milliana and I exchanged friendly banter in passing on the first day, though friendly might not be what other people called it. He probably saw how powerful your Guild was and mistook our challenge as us being rivals or something.”

“Not to mention, Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus are known allies of Fairy Tail,” Jura added in thought. “Mermaid Heel’s interaction with Fairy Tail is rather new, and not many people know of the history shared between Erza Scarlet and Milliana.”

“Especially with the Magic Council still covering it up,” Hibiki added, searching through his archive. “That entire resort you guys attended was sworn to secrecy. And Fairy Tail is a place of moving on from one’s past. With you guys not advertising things, there isn’t much on why you’re two Guilds started interacting. Speculation decided you were rivals.”

Cana made a face. “We don’t really do rivals unless they’re friendly. The only real rivals we’d consider not friendly are Dark Guilds. Maybe Sabertooth if they were still around.”

“Well I guess this whole misunderstanding worked to our advantage,” Lucy muttered, drawing all attention to her. “There’s no telling what Ivan would do if he’d still been allowed to fight. He’s dedicated his entire life to practically ruining everything his father stood for. If one of us had gone up against him or one of his Guild members, he’d probably find a way to cheat worse than what he did today.”

Several people paled. The events were Lucy had been kidnapped were still fresh in many of their Guildmate’s minds. Sure, it had gotten them new friends, and given Lucy the steps to closure, but the overall events had been painful for everyone.

“Enough of this depressing nonsense, maaan~” everyone visible cringed and shuddered as Ichiya spoke. “We are here to celebrate our success!”

“Yeah! You’re the man, Ichiya!” came the responding cheer from Blue Pegasus.

Which…was to be expected.


	2. The Shock of it All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Due to some...miscalculations...The King has declared a day off for the Guilds to explore Crocus. Being competitors, the Guilds don't interact very well. At least, until four of the Guilds start an all out game of tag in the city. Taking a break from the sheer nonsense, Natsu, Lucy, Happy, and the kids make a new friend.
> 
> And what's this? Lucy has to fight Jura?!?!?!?! Somebody go get Porlyusica! Natsu is having a heart attack!!

Due to the shock of the day, the Grand Magic Games were put on hold for a day to recalibrate everything. Which meant the Guilds were free to wander the city so long as there wasn’t a fight. At first, most of the Guilds avoided each other, but then the entire town watched in awe as four of the strongest Guilds somehow started a full-on game of tag in the town square. It soon had several of the Guilds roped into it, and they didn’t stop until around lunch.

“Who knew this could be so much fun,” Lucy took a bite of chicken. Probably some of the best she’d ever had, right up there with Mira’s homecooked chicken. “We should have come to Crocus sooner!”

“It’s only this awesome because we’ve made so many friends,” Natsu, _politely_ , devoured his third course. Lucy had threatened him within an inch of his life if he got them kicked out. “The kids wanted to explore after lunch, by the way. I was going to go with them and Happy. Wanna join? Or do you have a girl thing planned?”

“No, I’ll join!” Lucy grinned. “Depending on when the King wishes to see us, we might be staying in Crocus for a bit anyways. If I see something I want, I can always come get it later.”

Natsu grinned, bright and excited. It had been awhile since the three of them teamed up to explore. Let alone for something fun. With a bright smile, Natsu worked to finish his meal just a bit faster. Lucy could feel her keys warm as she smiled fondly at Natsu, her spirits sensing her sadness at the parts of her that were missing. Had it really been a year?

At least Natsu was kind enough to let her finish eating before he dragged her out of the restaurant in search of Happy and the kids.

\-----------------------

“Do they always do that?” Minerva asked, watching as Natsu and Lucy hushly debated buying a charm bracelet for someone named Juvia.

“Yeah,” Sting nodded, back straight but the rest of his body relaxed. “Not sure why, but it’s sort of their tradition. They like to find things that remind them of their old Guildmates.”

Yukino kept quiet as Sting did his best to explain her own observations. Sherry had given Chelia permission to join so long as Natsu and Lucy were with, and Romeo had tagged along too. It had been Yukino who extended the offer to Minerva, with Kagura’s blessing, of course. Kagura had clearly taken the girl under her wing. But of the group, only Yukino knew the secret kept between the four that shared the role of Master.

“Our friends are always with us,” Happy’s voice pulled the children’s gaze to him. “Even if they’re not here physically, they’re here in spirit. We decided early on that we would by each of our friends a birthday gift and a Yuletide gift, just to celebrate in case they come back.”

None of the kids had the heart to say anything against Happy’s claim. Not after they had just watched Happy purchase an Exceed based helmet that would have been perfect for Pantherlily. Or so he claimed.

“Alright, I think we got what we wanted,” Natsu approached the kids with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Ready to keep exploring.”

The kids nodded eagerly, dragging Lucy and Natsu away from the shop and back onto the streets of Crocus. They ended up in the gardens right near the palace, watching as the kids raced around the fountain.

“You ever think about having kids?” Lucy asked, voice soft.

“Yeah,” Natsu admitted. “It’d be nice to teach them and raise them. See my smile or the woman I love’s smile. I-”

Lucy turned, startled by Natsu’s sudden pause. “Natsu-?”

“There were times, when Mira would joke, that I’d imagine what it would be like if we all had kids of our own, running around the bar. We’d spar, and laugh, and they’d be just like us but completely their own person. It was one of the first things I thought about when we lost the others, but now…”

Lucy understood once she followed Natsu’s gaze. The kids playing around were just like them. Sting and Rogue taking after Natsu and Gray in their own way, a strong friendship between them. Minerva was very much Erza’s equal in many ways. And even Yukino was similar to Lucy, herself. Chelia had Wendy’s shyness but her spirit. And Romeo had bits of the entire Guild in him having been exposed the longest.

“I think Bisca might be pregnant.”

Lucy jolted out of her own mind, whipping to look at Natsu.

“Her…smell changed. Rogue and Sting brought it up to me because it started changing kind of gradually,” Natsu explained sheepishly. “Gajeel explained why scents do that back when that one couple that lived near the Guild was going to have a baby. I haven’t said anything yet because they have a right to find out on their own, but…”

“They’ll be the first child born into Fairy Tail’s fifth generation,” Lucy concluded with a smile. “I see what you mean. We’ll have to tell the baby all sorts of stories about the guild. We’ll want the baby to know all about their family so they recognize them.”

“Yeah…” Natsu drawled out his agreement on a sigh. And not one of those bone-weary ones. More like pleased, excited, maybe. “You ever thought about having kids, Lucy?”

Lucy shut her eyes, turning her face towards the sun. “All the time.”

Someone had to carry on Fairy Tail’s legacy in case their friends came back after their time.

“…Hello?”

Lucy and Natsu turned their heads to see a little girl, the same age as Sting, Rogue, Minerva, and Yukino, staring at them. She wore a cute little white dress with a tiara in her green hair. Behind the girl was a tall man in armor, clearly a member of the guard.

“Um…” she looked back towards the guard.

“Hi,” Natsu crouched in front of the girl. “I’m Natsu. Bet you heard the kids playing, huh?”

The girl nodded.

“You wanna go play with them?”

Sting and Rogue stopped running, causing Yukino to run into them. The three quickly made sure Yukino was okay before waving over to the girl.

“You can play with us!” Sting called. “Rogue is it!”

“Hey!”

The little girl giggled before joining the kids and running with Yukino. Beside them, the guard let out a sigh.

“Thank you for your kindness,” the man sighed. “My name Arcadios. Chief of the Cherry Blossom Holy Knight Squadron. You have no idea how much it means to us that you allowed the Princess to join your game.”

…

“ ** _PRINCESS!?”_**

\-------------------------

Hisui E. Fiore was, in fact, the crown princess and heir of the Fiore Royal Family. With Arcadios close behind, the group let Hisui shop with them and play a few more games here and there. As Princess, Hisui hadn’t had the chance to make friends as normal people did, and most of her friends consisted of the Royal Guard or her mother’s former Lady’s in Waiting.

“A Celestial Mage,” Lucy awed the little girl.

“Yes, Miss Heartfilia,” Arcadios explained. “As we understand, your mother and the former Queen, may she rest in peace, were rather close friends. But the Queen put her work before her magic long ago. She hadn’t been as skilled as she once was, but made sure to pass the knowledge down to the Princess.”

Yukino had summoned her newest spirit. It was a Canis Minor, much like Plue, but was a blue color. Yukino and Lucy had found the key on a job where Lucy gladly bought the key for her young charge. But as so few had known about the little guy, now dubbed Ricky (it was Sting’s idea), Mavis had recommended they keep the little guy secret for the time being. Canis Minors could be very helpful when they wanted to be. Especially with Ivan Dreyar.

“I had no idea,” Lucy admitted, watching as the group of children and Exceeds cooed over Ricky. “I was young when my mother passed, and my father was so overcome with grief that he didn’t talk of her much.”

“Does she have any spirits?” Natsu asked, head cocked curiously. “I don’t see any keys.”

“I am afraid not,” Arcadios shook his head. “The late Queen gave her keys to trusted friends, and those friends have since had no contact.”

And Hisui hadn’t been anywhere to even obtain keys. All the magic trapped inside her without an outlet. Lucy wondered if the girl would be okay.

“I’ll cheer for you guys tomorrow!” Hisui was telling them.

“You can’t cheer for separate teams,” Sting pointed out.

“Yes she can,” Yukino snapped. “Let her have her fun, Sting.”

“Frosch thinks so too!”

“If Frosch agrees then so do I.”

“Whose side are you on?”

“Aren’t you two idiots supposed to be on the same team?

“You’d think so, but our Guild likes to fight each other a lot.”

“Fight!”

Lucy giggled at the group. Some things, no matter what generation, never changed.

\----------------------

Hisui got to watch from a special box in the stadium as Guild after Guild and challenge after challenge was presented. She cheered on each of her new friends, even when they were pitted against each other, like Yukino vs Minerva in one of the first rounds. Minerva won that fight, but the two girls laughed it off like old friends. The overall winner of that group round was Minerva, and it was just a simple fight amongst one member from Each Guild. With the promise that things would get more interesting. But the second rounds were one on one.

But what wowed everyone was when Lucy Heartfilia was set to fight Jura.

“Be careful,” Natsu hugged Lucy close as she prepared for the fight. “He’s a wizard saint. He won’t be an easy opponent. You can’t just Lucy-kick yourself out of this one.”

“I’ll be careful,” Lucy promised. “You just watch.”

Coming out onto the field, Lucy showed no fear, though she could feel it radiate through the stadium. Even Lamia Scale seemed nervous for their friend. What made this match up so worrisome was that the Guilds weren’t allowed to chose their opponent. And the Pumpkin Head had mentioned that the King had a hand in these match-ups.

“Is Miss Lucy going to get hurt?” Hisui asked Arcadios. “I don’t want her to get hurt.”

And that was the problem. Arcadios hadn’t had the chance to tell the King about Hisui’s day. It had been late when they returned, and the King had been wrapped up in his plans. If Lucy Heartfilia got hurt, Arcadios was more than positive that Hisui would never forgive her father.

“You’ll understand I can’t hold back, Lucy?” Jura stared her down.

“I’d be disappointed if you did,” Lucy threw back.

And without a second thought, Jura attacked. The crowd gasped in horror as Lucy didn’t move, taking the attack head on. The entirety of the Fairy Tail Guild cried out as their gaze was blocked by dust.

“IS…IS IT OVER ALREADY?” Chapati called from over the speaker lacrima. “IS MS. HEARTFILIA OKAY?”

Jura sighed. He knew he hadn’t hurt the girl too much. He wouldn’t dare. The dust would clear and she’d be unconscious. It was a shame, really. He’d hoped with all her training she’d be more of a challenge.

Before Jura had a chance to react, something attacked him. Jura gaped in surprise as a goat appeared from the ground and rammed into him with a strength of a thousand men. Well, it was more of a goat head on a human body, but Jura didn’t have time to observe that now. Rather, Jura found any attempts to use his own magic thwarted. It took him a moment, but between hits he caught sight of Lucy standing beside a woman in a maid outfit.

_Two spirits at once?_

Jura lashed out with his magic, aiming for the two women, but as the pink haired girl deflected the Earth Magic, the goat vanished. And Lucy Heartfilia was smirking.

_Where did the pink haired girl-?_

Behind him. With the aid of her own Earth magic, the girl delivered hit after hit effectively distracting him from whatever Lucy was doing now. Why Lucy hadn’t led with the girl to begin with was beyond Jura, but-

**“URANO METRIA!”**

The girl vanished seconds before those words were said and Jura barely had a chance to prepare himself before the wave of magic hit him. Inescapable. That much magic power coming from one person…

Jura was barely standing, but so was Lucy. Neither quite had the power to use much magic after such an attack. So they lunged. Lucy had clearly been learning from the goat and the maid-girl, her hits, though not as hard, were all carefully calculated.

By the time the last punches were thrown, Jura had made up his mind. He fell. But so did Lucy. In a last-ditch effort as a courtesy from one friend to another, Jura shoved Lucy back, letting himself fall as Lucy instinctively caught herself on her feet.

The crowd went silent. Deadly silent. And it was only broken by Hisui’s squeal of excitement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My update schedule will be wack because there are some things going down IRL.


	3. Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Games continue. The author still can't write fight scenes to save their life. And....well dang....there is more fluff. Good. Our fairies deserve fluff.

“THREE CHEERS FOR FAIRY TAIL!”

**“AYE SIR!”**

Lyon let out a dejected sigh as the Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, and Mermaid Heel Guilds joined in on the cheering. Cana and Happy were heading the party today, encouraging utter nonsense amongst the group. Mermaid Heel had won the overall round and their battle against Hound Holy. And Blue Pegasus had a startling successful battle against Quatro Cerberus.

“You’re not eliminated yet, Lyon,” Cana gave a few too hard pats to his back. “You can still make a startling comeback at any time.”

“I’m not sure we can,” Toby sobbed out.

“Yes, I must admit, Fairy Tail has certainly made a name for itself after that display,” Yuka agreed, much to Toby’s further tears. “Not only did Ms. Heartfilia manage to defeat our very own S Class Mage, but she defeated a Wizard Saint.”

“That’s our Lushee!” Happy cheered, raising his fish like a mug of bear.

**“AYE SIR!”**

“That’s just getting creepy,” Happy whispered to Lector and Frosch.

“Frosch thinks so too.”

“Speaking of the marvel of the day,” Ichiya approached the bar. “We’d like to hold a lovely party for Ms. Heartfilia. Maaan~”

“Yeah, where is she,” Sherry glanced around the pub. “I’m surprised she’s not here celebrating.”

“Oh, she’s resting,” Yukino smiled at the group. “You see, that spell took a lot of magic power. Add that to summoning three magic spirits, two at a time each, and she’s practically drained. Miss Porlyusica has her on bed rest.”

“And I assume Natsu is with her too?” Jura spoke for the first time that night.

“Yeah, we gave them some aloooone~ Tiiiimmmeee~” Happy purred with a cheeky grin.

“What’s that mean?” Sting looked over to the group.

Cana opened her mouth and froze, face going blank. “We’ll tell you when you’re older.”

“Lucy threatened to confiscate her booze for a month if she corrupted the kids,” Happy explained to the confused faces. “Longer if it was with a nasty comment.”

Cana took a long swig of her beer, just to show she fully intended to keep her mouth shut. Ain’t no one was going to separate her from the overall love of her life. And the only person currently capable was one Lucy Heartfilia.

Cana wasn’t going to test her best friend’s wrath when her booze was at stake.

\---------------------------

Natsu had completely forgone any and all hospital protocol when Lucy shivered in her sleep, choosing to curl up next to her and keep her warm. Her magic had been low after the fight, so much so that her keys had been crying out. Loke had been by earlier just to check on her, but the sight of Lucy in a hospital bed hadn’t sat right with the celestial lion.

Natsu would talk to him later. Right now, Lucy needed him more.

“Natsu?”

“Here, Luce,” Natsu buried his head in her hair. “You were amazing today.”

“You sound worried.”

“I’ll always worry,” he retorted back, getting a sleepy chuckle from the mage. “Don’t want you hurt.”

Lucy burrowed into his chest. “Told you-” she gave a yawn “-knew what I was doing.”

Natsu huffed as Lucy fell back asleep. Of course, Lucy always had a plan. And even when she didn’t have a plan, she could easily piece one together. It was just part of who Lucy was. Didn’t make Natsu worry any less. It still urked him when she took jobs alone too, as necessary as it was. He _wanted_ to protect her.

She could be the strongest Mage out there and he would still protect her.

Not that he’d _let_ her be the strongest Mage. That was his job! He would be the strongest mage and Lucy could be the second strongest! She’d probably agree if he begged enough.

Whatever happened, Natsu was still going to protect Lucy. No matter what.

\------------------------

Lucy was eternally grateful that they had denied Sting the chance to do this particular fight. Because the fight was on a boat. A boat of all things. The entire floor of the arena had been changed into a pool that thrashed about wildly. There was even a designated “Splash Zone” for the crowd watching to get drenched in the battle as the waves knocked side to side.

But…Lucy also wasn’t sure what Cana was doing.

She was just…sitting there.

Albeit no one else had managed to get close to Cana since the ship started rocking, but Cana was just sitting on the little deck where the wheel lived. Enjoying herself. This had been going on for the last hour or so.

“What is she doing?” Romeo asked turning away from the sick Natsu.

Oddly enough, it was Wakaba who gave an answer with a sharp laugh.

“Good old Cana has known how to keep her balance since she took her first drink.”

Lucy had to deadpan at that. Because of course Cana would treat a rocking, out of control ship as if she were drunk.

And then Cana started shucking off her jacket.

If Lucy hadn’t known the plan, she would have yelled out to Cana. Maybe called her an idiot while attempting to cover the kid’s eyes. But Lucy did know the plan, so she was ready for the weird tattoo thing that was engraved on Cana’s arm.

“You suckers are gonna get it now!” Cana cheered, aiming her arm at the boat. **“FAIRY GLITTER!”**

The boat was absolutely decimated. Every single last person ended up in the water, except, oddly enough, Cana, who managed to conjure a mini boat with one of her cards. The crowd was stunned speechless once more.

“Fairy Tail doing what Fairy Tail does best, I suppose,” Lucy muttered sheepishly as Cana laughed at the other contestants. “I just hope we won’t have to pay for the boat.”

Poor Natsu, Sting and Rogue had to be carried from the arena. Just the sight of the boat rocking had made the poor dragon slayers sick. At least they had friendly Exceeds willing to carry their friends.

\------------------------

“He’d be proud, you know,” Lucy told Cana later that night.

“Yeah,” Cana’s voice sounded tired, but pleased.

An entire year of intense training would do that to a person, Lucy supposed. The two had both worked effortlessly to increase their magic power and become worthy of the title S Class Mage. Neither was quite sure they were there yet, but the spells they had learned and wielded were a testament to training they had pulled off.

“Lucy?”

“Yeah, Cana?”

“Let’s get even stronger, okay? I want to be able to look my dad in the eye and tell him just how strong I am.”

Lucy smiled at her best friend. “Yeah. We can do that. But, Cana?”

“Yeah?”

“I think Gildarts would be proud of you either way.”

Cana didn’t answer, didn’t need to. There was too much old doubt for Cana to take Lucy at her word. But that was okay. Lucy would do everything she could to encourage Cana to one day take that leap of faith.

That was her personal goal, and one she intended to complete before their friends came back.

\------------------------

Battle after battle. Competition after competition. Weird event after weird event. The members of Fairy Tail fought to their hardest. Wins or losses, the Guild cheered on and continued to fight like their lives depended on it.

Close to the end of the competition, Lucy, Natsu, and Cana finally got their summon to see the King. The entire ordeal might have been more nerve wracking had Arcadios and Hisui not come to accompany them to the Palace.

“You guys were all so awesome,” Hisui was beaming from Natsu’s shoulders. “You guys would just go in there and BAM! WHAM! Win the battles.”

“Not all the battles,” Natsu smiled up at the girl. “We have to let our friends win occasionally.”

Hisui laughed as Lucy jabbed Natsu in the ribs. With tomorrow being the last day of the competition, Fairy Tail planned to give whatever challenge arose their all. To win the competition would be amazing, of course, but Fairy Tail was well aware they’d already made the impression they needed.

“Ah, Master Natsu of Fairy Tail,” King greeted brightly. “And Ms. Lucy and Ms. Cana. Welcome! Have you enjoyed the competition so far?”

“Heck yeah!” Natsu cheered. “Though, I’ll admit, it would have been way cooler if I competed.”

The King gave a hearty laugh. “Given how strong your Guild is, I think it was probably wise you hadn’t competed. There might not have been any competition left!”

“Please don’t inflate his ego,” Lucy sighed under her breath.

“But I understand there is something you wanted to discuss with me.”

The three Fairies went serious rather quickly, much to the surprise of the castle residents. Natsu even put Hisui down for this conversation.

“Yeah, we’d like to discuss mistreatment in the Guilds,” Natsu began, voice firm and a fire in his eyes.

Cana locked eyes with the King. “Specifically the mistreatment of _children_ in guilds.”

The room got deathly quiet.

\-------------------------------

The final battle was as such. Three members from each Guild would come forth and battle it out for points. For each member of another Guild that was taken out, one point would be given to the offending Guild. However, each Guild had three recovery points to bring back player at any time, but to use said point, a member of the Guild would need to enter one of four circles.

There were ten Guilds in the finals, and not one of them was allowed to pick who got to compete in the game. Instead, a lacrima would randomly choose people to compete that morning. Upon the announcement, the three Guild members would have an hour to prepare before they had to enter the arena. The hour must be spent amongst the three guild members only, with no interference from the other Guild members, or anyone outside the Guild.

The Teams were as follow:

**MERMAID HEAL:** Milliana, Risley, Minerva

**BLUE PEGASUS:** Ichiya, Hibiki, Jenny

**LAMIA SCALE:** Lyon, Sherry, Toby

**QUATRO CERBERUS:** Warcy, Nobalry, Bacchus

**FAIRY TAIL:** Rogue, Alzack, Cana

“Those are some…odd matchups,” Lucy muttered.

“Aye, sir.”

“Don’t sweat it,” Lector gave Happy a harsh slap to the back. “Our Guild has this in the bag.”

“Of course,” Master Mavis chirped up, startling the Guild members. “After all, I’ve got a game plan. And no one said anything about ghost not being allowed to visit Guildmates.”

The game plan, as it turned out, was genius. As soon as the game started, Rogue seemingly disappeared. With Cana playing offense, Alzack took defense. Fairy Glitter wasn’t an option this time, so Cana used the fear of the arena to her advantage. Alzack, however, had taken to guarding one of the circles in an alliance with Hibiki. The two would take out anyone who got too close. With this alliance, Lamia Scale also took to teaming up with Cana. It was a three way alliance. As for Rogue, well, no one knew where he was.

An alliance only formed among Fairy Tail, Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, and Mermaid Heel once Bacchus made a mad dash for a circle to bring back his teammates. It was Cana, Ichiya, Lyon, and Minerva verse Bacchus.

“You think you can stop me?” Bacchus laughed.

The fight had been going to no avail, and the four mages were already weak.

“No might be a good time to use that spell,” Lyon hissed to Cana.

Cana’s gaze snapped up to her Guildmates, where Mavis gave the nod.

And Cana charged. Bacchus, poised to strike, didn’t even know what hit him.

**“CARD MAGIC! LIGHTNING FIRE DRAGON EXPLOSION!”**

It, of course, had the intended effect. A small portion of Natsu’s magic had been previously placed with the card before the games. It was meant to be a “Suicide Card” as the magic in the card was completely unpredictable and would attack anything and everything within an intended vicinity.

Which meant Minerva, Ichiya, and Lyon suffered the blast too. But Cana also knocked herself out of the game. It was the end of an alliance as Fairy Tail went up by four points by that one attack alone. Alzack and Hibiki turned on each other as soon as the shock was over, and the two battled it out. But although Alzack managed to defeat Hibiki, Milliana had a vengeance. Alzack was out next.

And there was still no sight of Rogue. At least, that was the thought until people suddenly started collapsing. Left in the fight was Sherry, Milliana, and a few stragglers from other Guilds, so when people started collapsing, no one knew who to give the points too.

And then Rogue made his move. He lunged from the shadows, all of the points of the people who fell going to Fairy Tail, and Rogue stepped into a circle.

“You had him hide in the shadows,” Sting grinned. “Clever.”

“He was in Alzack’s shadow the whole time,” Mavis explained. “The moment both Cana and Alzack fell, Rogue was to start shadow hopping. He’d take out the Guild members one by one until the strongest ones were left, then he’d use the circle.”

And with Porlyusica healing Cana and Alzack, both would be in relatively okay shape to return. It was brilliant. And before either Sherry or Millianna could react, they were out. With only a few stragglers left, Fairy Tail stood victorious.

Of the game, at least, it would be a game of point calculating to determine who would win the overall games.

“We might be tied with Mermaid Heel,” Warren calculated. “I’m not sure. I lost count of the points somewhere.”

Lucy looked to Natsu, a smile took over her face as she caught his gaze. Whatever happened, they made the intended impression. Both on the King, and on Fiore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I find out any of you idiots tried to microwave a book, I will curse you!


	4. Look to the Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fairy Tail has won the Grand Magic Games. Alzack and Bisca have an announcement to make. Fairy Tail has a new team, maybe the second strongest team next to Team Natsu...
> 
> And then seven years pass by.

Natsu grinned at Jura, both with sweat beating their brow, and harsh pants from the effort of their fight. Just watching the fighting over the last couple of days had keyed Natsu up to a dangerous level, and Jura had been kind enough to offer the chance to become his opponent.

And with the safety regulations placed in the arena, Natsu and Jura had been given permission to let loose.

“He’s practically on par with Jura,” Lyon commented at Lucy’s side. “You both are. That’s an impressive feat.”

“We’re not quite there yet,” Lucy shook her head fondly. “We’re not even S Class yet.”

Lyon looked to Lucy as if she had grown another head. Lyon wasn’t a Celestial Mage or a dragon slayer, but he knew the basics behind their magic. Natsu could pull Etherion from the air, and Lucy had so much magic power in her body, she could open two gates at once and perform a powerful spell. Even Cana had evolved from using her card magic to creating cards and even using one of Fairy Tail’s strongest spells.

And yet, because of Tenrou, the three refused to declare themselves S Class Mages.

It was rather infuriating to say the least. The three clearly had no idea how much stronger they had become. And only in the span of a year.

“Lushee! Lushee! Look!”

Lucy and Lyon turned to see Happy flying towards them, Lector, Frosch, Sting, Rogue, and Yukino close behind. Just feet before Happy crashed into Lucy, he was surrounded in a poof of smoke and barreled into Lucy. But it wasn’t an Exceed that greeted Lucy. It was a child with blue hair and cat ears.

“I did it Lushee!”

“You did!” Lucy cheered excitedly. “That’s amazing, Happy! You did it! Natsu! Natsu, look! Happy succeeded the transformation spell!”

Natsu and Jura paused in their fight, Natsu’s face splitting into a grin from where Happy was waving.

“That’s awesome buddy! You’ve got so much stronger now!”

The four of them, Lyon corrected in his mind. The four of them had gotten so much stronger and not one of them seemed to understand just how amazing they were. Gray and the others would have been proud. But their desire to fight and battle and grow stronger had left an impression on Fiore. A clear message.

We will fight with our all for those we love.

And that was a message that left all of Fiore in awe. Of course, then that image of a strong powerful guild had nearly been ruined when the winner was announced and Fairy Tail nearly had a party right there in the arena.

They had deserved their win, and Lamia Scale wasn’t going to sit by and watch them win again next year. And there would be a next year.

\--------------------------

Most of the Guild had returned on the first day, but Lucy and Natsu had once more opted to let the kids explore Crocus with Hisui and Arcadios.

“So what does Fairy Tail intend to do now?” Arcadios asked as the kids raced around the gardens once more. “I can’t see any of you sitting by idly.”

“Of course not,” Natsu laughed, grin brighter than it had been since they lost their friends. “We’re going to get Fairy Tail even stronger for next year! Take jobs, of course! And let our family grow!”

“A fine goal,” Arcadios hummed. “I am glad there are Guilds such as Fairy Tail who manage to protect those that cannot protect themselves.”

Natsu said nothing as he watched the kids. He wished he could protect them from anything. The torture that Sting and Rogue endured at the hands of a Guild. The pain Yukino faced while tracking down slavers to find her sister. None of these children deserved that. It was a miracle they could even still smile.

Natsu’s thoughts were cut off as Lucy took his hand. It was a reaction for Natsu to start running his thumb over her guild mark. A comfort they both took knowing it was there.

“We’ll always do our best,” Lucy spoke for them. “That’s just what Fairy Tail does. It’s second nature.”

Before them, Happy turned into a boy again, getting giggles from the kids as he joined in on the play. He wasn’t quite used to his longer legs and arms, but the kids all helped him with balance.

_“You ever thought about having kids.”_

_“All the time.”_

Those words still spoke to Natsu. Their conversation that day never quite going away, left incomplete. Natsu pulled Lucy’s hand into his lap, lacing their fingers as she scooted closer, settling her head on his shoulder and resting her free hand on his Guild mark.

Bisca and Alzack had talked to Porlyusica the other day, though Natsu only caught snippets of that conversation in passing. It was clear the couple was nervous when they asked to make a big announcement on the day that everyone finally returned home.

“Fairy Tail will always protect others,” Natsu spoke alloud, softly. A promise to the generations to come. “Always.”

That was his promise to both the friends he lost and the ones that had yet to come. Fairy Tail would always be there and waiting for them.

\------------------------

Jude Heartfilia met them at the train station on their way back to Magnolia, congratulating them and offering to treat them to lunch. Lucy, however, deterred the idea of letting them eat in Crocus before a train ride.

“I see what you mean,” Jude eyed the three pitiful dragon slayers as they took the train to Magnolia together. “That would have been a disaster.”

“Yeah, I’ve learned to make sure their stomachs are empty before we go on a trip,” Lucy admitted sheepishly. “Less of a mess to clean up.”

Jude gave a chuckle at that, his gaze going to Lucy’s keys. Seeing Capricorn again had been a surprise, but he was glad the Spirit was now present to protect his daughter once more. Their time in Magnolia was short, as Jude did need to return to work, but he treated the mages to a nice lunch before bidding his daughter goodbye with an exchanged promise to write.

“I’m so proud of you,” Jude told her.

That was enough to make Lucy cry. Tears of happiness, but they were still tears. And Lucy adored the feeling of being wrapped in a hug in her father’s arms.

Of course, Cana already had the party to celebrate their victory in full swing before they even got to the Guild Hall. Which meant the guys had to jump right in.

\----------------------

The big announcement that Alzack and Bisca wanted to make waited for the first round of partying to die down. With careful planning and an idea of what the couple wanted to say, Lucy managed to work the budget so they had enough beer for both the celebration of their win and the celebration of the big news.

Of course, the day the couple wanted to make their announcement, Jason from Sorcerer Weekly decided to visit.

“We’re pregnant,” Alzack and Bisca chorused.

Of course the Guild Hall erupted with cheers, but that was easily distracted by;

“COOOOL~!”

Which, to Lucy’s disdain, meant that the whole of Fiore found out the next day, and Fairy Tail found itself visited by several Guilds they had encountered during the tournament. Thankfully, most of them brought gift or jewel, but it did nothing to help Lucy as she struggled to keep their budget.

“We’re going to have to take a bunch of jobs to cover this mess, “Lucy groaned over the current bill she received. “All that money gone down the drain. And my rent is due tomorrow.”

“Then we’ll take jobs,” Natsu pipped up from behind her, slapping a flier down in front of Lucy. “What do you say, Luce? Let’s you and me take a job together again. Just you, me, and Happy. Like the old days.”

Lucy’s eyes widened as she glanced down at the flier. There was enough money there to pay for her rent for the next six months. Happy floated next to Natsu’s head, already packed and ready to leave.

“Yeah,” Lucy stood up eagerly. “Let’s do it!”

\--------------------------

“Looking at jobs already?” Rogue asked his best friend.

“Yeah, but just looking, though,” Sting shrugged half-heartedly. “I’m not strong enough to do any of the bigger stuff yet. And I’d like to go with Natsu or Lucy, but they decided to go with Happy on a job to pay Lucy’s rent.”

“Well, then, why don’t we go together,” Yukino offered, looking at the jobs over Sting’s shoulder. “The five of us could make a great team! Right?”

“Frosch thinks so too!”

“If Frosch agrees, then I’m in,” Lector cheered. “We wanna increase our magic to, anyways. So we can use transformation magic like Happy.”

“Yeah!”

“Huh, okay, Rogue what do you think?”

“I want to help Frosch get stronger!” Rogue cried, cuddling his best friend close.

“Then I guess it’s settled!” Sting grabbed a particular flyer he had been eyeing. “Let’s go on a job and form a team!”

Cana watched the group of five get permission from Laki with a fond smile on her face. She quickly hid it behind her mug of beer, however. It did not good to let the others tease her as she performed her role as acting Master in Natsu’s stead.

As long as Fairy Tail still had Fairies to call it’s own, the Guild would forever remain strong with each passing generation.

\------------------------

**x791~Magnolia**

“Wait fo me! Wait fo me!”

Sting paused in his walk, a grin spreading on his face as he spun to face the voice behind him. He leaned down, scooping the small pink-haired body off the ground and tossed her into the air. The little girl giggled, crawling onto Sting’s shoulders.

“I’d never do that, Nashi!” Sting teased, poking the girl in the stomach, much to her delight and giggles. “What would I do without my best girl?”

Nashi just giggled again, clutching Sting’s hair to keep a firm grip as he marched them towards the job board. Of course, Nashi couldn’t go on missions. She knew that, but Sting always made a show of asking Nashi’s opinion on which job to take.

“What about…this one?”

“Is a monstah?”

“Oh, yeah,” Sting nodded, grinning at the flyer. “A big one! It’s terrorizing a poor town!”

“No!” Nashi gasped. “Save ‘em Stin! Save ‘em!”

“Alright, alright,” Sting grinned. “We’ll go save them. But you have to promise to behave while I’m gone. Okay, princess?”

“Yes, yes, yes!”

Nashi squirmed, a sign that she was ready to be put down, and she raced towards the bar to tell Kinana all about Sting’s new job. Sting waved the flyer like a prize at Rogue, Yukino, Lector, and Frosche. Asuka was sitting between them, clapping and cheering. The two little girls were the heart of Fairy Tail, so to speak.

“We’re back!” Alzack called, instantly getting tackled by his daughter.

“Hey, Romeo,” Sting waved to the kid who had accompanied the couple as part of his training. “How’d the job go?”

“A little easy,” Romeo shrugged. “It was just one of the training jobs Natsu always insists on. But we did get to meet a water mage. Not as strong as Juvia, but still cool!”

“That’s great,” Yukino beamed. “And you’re just in time, too. Lucy and Cana are supposed to be back any minute now. Their study into the gate apparently reached some sort of conclusion.”

The Eclipse Gate had stirred trouble the moment Hisui found it. A few years back, someone had attempted to come through the Gate, uninvited. It had been an off and on study to figure out what the purpose of the Gate was for after the near disaster it brought.

“Oh, you guy’s going on a job?” Romeo eyed the flyer with envy.

“Yeah,” Sting grinned. “Nashi said we were being bums, so we went ahead and picked one. We’ll probably head out tomorrow so we can say hello.”

“You’ll get there someday,” Rogue gave Romeo a pat on the head. “We all had to go through Natsu’s weird training. But he has his reasons.”

“Frosch thinks so too!”

“Yeah, I know,” Romeo sighed. “Just wish my training could go faster, you know? Where is Master Natsu, anyways? And Happy?”

“In his study, I’m afraid,” Yukino’s gaze drifted to Natsu’s office. “It’s that time of year again, remember?”

Romeo stiffened, his gaze sweeping around the room. It was starting to make sense as to why Alzack and Bisca wanted to get the job done early. He could see Reedus absently sketching, and Laki half-heartedly cleaning a few dishes. Nab had been sat beside the job board, expression blank, and Vijeeter hadn’t been dancing. Max and Warren were talking at the bar. Droy and Jet could be seen exciting the library. Even Macao and Wakaba were drunk already.

Tomorrow would be the seven year anniversary since Tenrou Island disappeared.

“Hey, don’t sweat it, kid. Everything’s going to be fine. You’ll see. I can feel it.”

“That might just be hunger, Sting,” Lector cut in.

“Shut up! I ate five minutes ago!”

The doors of the Guild Hall were suddenly thrown open to reveal Lucy Heartfilia-Dragneel and Cana Alberona standing tall and proud as ever. Time had been kind to the two. Both girls were still slender and beautiful, the eye catchers of the Guild. But no one in their right mind dared mess with Fairy Tail’s first S Class Mage (since Tenrou) or the newest Wizard Saint. Cana had been given the honor by Natsu after a series of tests, and Lucy had become a Saint when it was revealed one of Fiore’s current Saint’s was dedicated to Alvarez across the sea. (No one dare take Makarov’s position, not even Natsu).

But what surprised Fairy Tail was their company. Blue Pegasus’ strongest team.

“NATSU!”

Said Guild Master stepped out, cradling his newborn son, Hiro, to his chest. He locked eyes with his wife, only to stumble back in shock.

“Get this,” Ichiya struck one of his weird poses. “Tenrou Island. Still exists!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will, obviously, be a third part to this series. But it is still being written. I might make sub-series, but you'll understand why I did the time jump once you read part 3.


End file.
